"Down Tow Up Flow" Half-Marathon

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Comments

  • YoungPupYoungPup ✭✭✭
    Can someone with local knowledge comment on how much of the course is likely to be muddy? Are we talking a couple of miles, more than half the course, or substantially all of it?



    Someone earlier talked about the bit along the Jubilee river being a shingle path, so that bit presumably will be fine?



    I'm trying to decide on shoes........ Roclites or racers
  • Afraid I don't know. I quote my friend "The river path is EXTREMELY muddy. You have been warned! I'm thinking quagmire once a few hundred feet have pounded it...." She lives in Bourne End. I am presuming that it won't be all terrible or they would have to cancel the race, but perhaps a fair section, a couple of miles or so. And yes, the Jubilee bit is shingle so fine.

  • *crossing my fingers re the mud* Good luck everyone! image

  • The sun shining overhead, the mud squishing underfoot...sounds great!!

    Good luck everybody!

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    hope everyone had a good race.

    Had forgotten this one was taking place, and ended up doing a couple of miles of my training run along the last bit of the route. Yeah some mud, but possible to avoid going through it.

    Just hope that the little gang of cows that were loitering around one particular gate at 8.20am had moved on before 100s of you lot steamed towards them image

    ps a week on from last sunday, i only just realised there's a slightly obvious reason for the 8th and 9th k going from 3.13 to 4.20

    8th k was 0.51m and 9th k was 0.73m! image

    I was gonna say...didn't feel that ridiculous a drop off! As long as the whole thing is accurate that's all that really matters.

  • Also-ranAlso-ran ✭✭✭
    Well Stevie, the cows had moved on, so that was one less obstacle to deal with. Really disappointed with the lack of mud though, there were loads of gleaming white trainers about! Perfected my kissing gate technique by the end.



    Had to do a bit of ad-hoc marshalling, when we passed 3 marshalls standing about, as the 4 guys ahead of me went shooting off up a hill in the wrong direction.

    I shouted them back onto the course and we were back on towards Maidenhead. Hopefully the marshalls realised what their job was after that.



    It was an Ok event. Not sure if I'd do it again as I often run that stretch of the Thames. I used today as part of a 23 mile long run, with the race in the middle. Pleased with 1:25, but as an event it felt low key, low energy, and little buzz.
  • New PB for me by 9.5 mins, not too much mud thankfully. It might have added a minute or two as I had to walk single file early on and then was running side to side at times to avoid puddles. Enjoyed the run - but the terrain was quite tough on my knees in places.
    Very friendly, seems to have been well organised - might give it a go next year - if it is dry I would expect to knock a fair bit of time off today's run.

  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭

    Well, I found that tough in the heat. My splits tell the story, with serious slowdown from mile 9 onwards. Lovely course as ever, and I enjoyed the bit through Dorney on the shingle track. I would have been happy with anything below 2 hrs and delighted with below 1 hr 55 and in the event did 2 hrs and one second by my Garmin - pah!

    I wouldn't normally comment on the distance relative to what the Forerunner says but I did have an unusually large discrepancy at nearly 0.2 mile. And I recall one mile marker being well short, after which the distance wasn't made up. Interested to hear what others made of it.

    But I'm not complaining. It was a nice day out in good company (hello Foxy Lady, hello Mr K), and a seriously fine medal.

  • The heat didn't bother me that much and I was pleased to amble round at 2 hours 8 minutes or thereabouts- didn't have my watch, the clock said 2.18, but I started in Wave 3 so about that. I reckon 5-10 minutes was spent crossing bridges/going through gates/drinking water (great to have those water stations, definitely needed and appreciated image) so I'm quite chuffed with that time. It was good being in wave 3, caught up with the first blue runner between mile 2 and 3, then a group at mile 6, then overtook quite a few on the way to the finish. Will be back for more, I definitely slowed down, at mile 6 a spectator shouted "you're still in line for under 2 hours" so I think I prob added a minute a mile or more from that point, or from mile 8 more like.

  • And I didn't say anything about the view- it was fabulous, will be back for more!

  • Funny you should say that, Muttley, was going to post the same thing about the Forerunner discrepancy. My Garmin read 12.91 miles at the finish. I recall hitting the 12 mile marker at 11.7 miles miles on my watch. It was a welcome sight though!

    I faded from 9 miles also, the never-evending stretch in the field at 10 miles was tough and the water station and gate at 11 miles really knocked me out of any stride I had left. The heat was just energy sapping today. I came in at 1:55:54. 8 minutes off my half marathon PB from March but I was satisfied with sub 2hr. Is that your Garmin time, Muttley? You never know, chip time may take a second or two off hopefully.

    I enjoyed the course, the organistaion was fine and agree with the comment above that says it felt very low key.

  • Hey that was a nice morning out image  Not too much mud but far too much sun.  And I agree the mileage was a little odd.

    I finished with my Garmin saying 12.8...

     

  • I spoke to about half a dozen guys at the end and we all had about 12.8 or 12.9 on Garmins. Doesnt make that much difference, still a lovely run!! image

  • Mr KMr K ✭✭✭

    Great event & good to be back.

    Good to see Muttley & RLTW again

    My garmin measured 12.93 but it also shows I was running ON the River Thames half the time so I don`t believe the distance either. I have known this before on river / canal runs before.

    Well done Purple Patch

     

     

  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭

    Probably was a wee bit short then. As you say, doesn't make that much difference.

    Slight case of dehydration here, though. Drinking all afternoon, not one trip to the loo. I don't do hot weather.

  • YoungPupYoungPup ✭✭✭
    I agree with everything already said.



    I enjoyed this run, and Purple Patch deserve a lot of kudos for a slickly organised event. I think the course was slightly short, but who caresimage



    Weather was both fabulous and bit much (I also faded quite badly between mile 10-12 due to the heat), the aforementioned mud was there but only in a minor way, and overall this was a very enjoyable morning.



    1hr 37 for me. Should have been more like 1hr 34 really.....
  • My Garmin has it as 20.68km. I was aiming for a sub 2hr run, so thanks to my Garmin and the apparent short length, I got a 1hr 59. Weather was great - but it was dehydrating!

  • Also-ranAlso-ran ✭✭✭

    My Garmin came out as 12.99miles. This included a bit of walking on water, and some dodgy looking GPS tracks under some of the more denser tree cover. I've lost signal, or the accuracy of the signal has dropped severely many times when I run between Maidenhead and Cookham through the treelined section.

    Some of the guys towards the front will probably have run further than 13.1 after a slight cock-up early on!

  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭

    Well that serves 'em right for being in such a hurry, doesn't it? I mean, if they were to ease off a little and look where they're going ...

    No problems here following the route image

  • My Garmin also shows 12.98.  Not complaining though.  The heat really got to me.  Not happy about a few things though - was told to wait to cross the road (twice) being held back for more than a minute each time and had to queue to get water.  They ran out of cups at mile 8 station & taking turns to fill our water bottle was frustrating.  Good thing I was only doing a training run rather than wanting a PB.  I was in wave 3 (the endurance runners wave). image  Scenery was great though.  Lovely medal too.

  • Mr KMr K ✭✭✭
    Unlucky Muttley....unless your real name is Caroline Binson image
  • The marshalls were generally very good, BUT, near Cookham there was one in charge of road crossing when I got there who didn't know what he was doing and it was all a bit of a bungle. We had to wait for ages, there was much indecision, he was signalling cars to go when they couldn't because of runners in their way and in the end (after waiting about 2-3 minutes I think) I'm afraid I just made the decision to cross the road. I wondered if he hadn't really been trained.

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    Leisa...that sounds a bit unsatisfactory...being held back in a race! How much of the route was over unclosed roads then?

    To be honest though, you don't do MT races for pbs image

  • There was only about 3 or 4 roads to cross, I think.  There was also a bit of a hold up along Taplow lake with cars trying to get out.  I wasn't doing this race for a PB today but having said that, last year, I got a PB on this race. 

  • On the whole I think you have to give the organisers credit for not cancelling the event and for how well it was organised, given the problems they had with the route change etc.

  • Fantastic run as always.  Enjoyed the new Jublilee river section.   Didn't smell any bacon this year image and didn't see anyone sipping Pimms/wine either. Most unusual. Perhaps it's the people on the stretch that we missed out this year that usually do all that !

    Great to bump into Mr K at the finish image

     

  • Curly45Curly45 ✭✭✭

    I got knocked on the back of the head on Saturday so just ended up going around at about steady pace for 1:51 something...not a course I would do again as too much grass and just general back and forth over bridges and through gates for me.

    It was pretty warm - I thought the course woud be shady, but the first half had not a tree in sight.

    The winners time is in line with his other races (about 2 mins slower which I would expect given the terrain) so I dont think it was short. I suspect that garmins didnt like some of the narrow paths.

  • The FoonThe Foon ✭✭✭

    Accepting this morning that it was a run to achieve endurance and to enjoy some off-road surface. Walkers, dogs, gates, bridges and various surfaces meant it was an opportunity (or something) to sit in and focus on finishing - I mean, who has trained in that heat recently!! A big well done to Purple Patch and all runners who started and finished - a good 8 minutes from where I usually finish, but pleased nonetheless.

  • Curly45 - it would be nice if you were right as I took 5 mins of last year's time, dipping below 1:35 - which is a lot if its was 13.1. image

    The organisers have said they measured twice (with garmins) and they got it 13.1.

    But I still like the run and had a fun morning out - which is the main thing for me!!

  • runlozrunrunlozrun ✭✭✭

    That was tough going, not run that kind of distance for a many weeks due to various illnesses and by mile 10 I was struggling.  Just glad I completed even though it was a good 7 minutes slower than last year.  Enjoyed it even in the heat. 

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